Thursday, October 28, 2010

... Hi there Pay It Forward buddy.. ... somehow the sneaky mailman just left a package on my porch and didn't even ring the doorbell! I brought in mail from earlier in the day and I'm sure it was not there then....

What fun it is to receive a letter in snail mail anymore... let alone a parcel !! It's like Christmas ... only earlier.

In February, Norma had a Pay It Forward Challenge on her blog.... I've done one before and it was such fun I signed up for this one too. She was a participant in Serena's Pay It Forward. Things have been back and forth to Australia...and who knows where else now. Little gifts are winging their way 'round the world....

There is no time limit and there is no pressure to send any particular type of gift. The gifts need not be expensive .... they can certainly be hand made (we craftsy types love that) .... it can be anything at all really, that you think might make a person's day. It's all just a lot of fun for everybody involved. ...

So...if you would like a little giftie from me..... please leave a comment on this post indicating that you would like to play along.... I'll eventually choose 5 participants and they in turn will send a little gift along to 5 others..... 'spreading the love' as Norma said....

let me show you who I am carrying around in my pocket today.

I've named her Norene.... because she came from Norma....and I think her face looks very serene. It is actually difficult to get a photo that actually shows the serene-ness of it. In real life she is very serene...and perfect for my wacky week. Do you remember that Seinfeld episode with George's Dad screaming "serenity now!!" at the top of his lungs when he got totally irritated? I think it was at a cashier in a food mart or something....I feel like that this week. But...not going there today.... nope... just enjoying my day in blues, purples and greens.... relaxing colours.

Please meet Norene... she is from a sunny, warm place..... and I imagine I hear the sea lapping softly on a sandy beach when I look at her... this one shows her lovely realistic colours...but, the serenity .. not so much. Mr. BV was quite taken with her feathers....

There is a lot going on with this gal which you may not notice at first glance. See under the little tile with the character on it?.... a piece of rock...an agate slice I think. Almost clear so that her dress shows through...some little shells.... another bead near the bottom... her sunny face and a lot of fibres and texture.... I love her colours.

I think the little symbol is Japanese and it could be a specific sign...or it might mean something about a Japanese plum or apricot. I'm hoping it's not a fertility symbol seeing as she is rather near my uterus, being in my pocket and all .. .... ..just kidding... I have no idea. Norma?

... and....she wasn't the only thing...I was spoiled...

This.... is perfect! Just in time to marvel at the beautiful recipes and there are even recipes for two different frostings that I'm definitely going to try! And..I do have star cookies cutters.

a bag full of soft wools for felting....

just look at these little babies... so cute ... I wonder if there are bulb cookie cutters...or...perhaps I could make them from cardboard cutouts.... I love them. Anybody seen bulb cookie cutters?

look at this photo...even if I don't make them...I love food photography.... and love to see how people set it up...

Oh.....and.... just in time for the next day of fun... Hallowe'en... and some notepaper to keep me on track. Which.... by the way is the only time I remember to do something...'cuz, if I don't write it down.... it's out the window the second I thought about it. I mentioned to my sister just the other day that I think I am losing the last of my marbles.

Thanks so much Norma. What a fun time I had unwrapping and enjoying my parcel.

Okay... who wants to play? ..... don't forget...no time limits...no budget.... just a lot of fun...... and we all get to pass along some fun and friendship......

Friday, October 22, 2010

This is just the same as trying to start a new habit. You know the drill. "Do something for 21 days in a row and it becomes habit." Motivational seminars quote it all the time...as do investment counsellors, diet centres, dental offices, ... etc.... ... Surely you've heard of it? We used to use it all the time when trying to encourage people to floss.

Well... it appears it is the same in reverse... for me anyway. How 'bout you? If I don't do something for 21 days... it seems difficult to get back to it. Like exercising...or cooking, or .... blogging...or ... I guess that pretty much proves the saying...

So... here I am.... back. With nothing much for show and tell. I didn't make anything... even with my good hand. I have been lazy and bad tempered for 3 weeks really.

Hand surgery seems to have been a success so far as is known at the moment. Thankfully, I have full range of motion with all fingers and thumb, although I can't press things too far yet as it is tight and a bit painful to stretch my thumb as far down into my fist as I think it should be able to go .. and it better... eventually. The surgeon says to see him in 3 months if I have any queries.... absolutely buddy! (he looks about 18 years old)... You will be the first to know! Believe me...

My right foot got really bad and I've been limping around for weeks as well ... because I did a bad thing. I walked on my treadmill in my slippers because I couldn't tie the laces on my running shoes. Idiotic. No support and my foot got reeeellly bad. But... that has finally let up just today and yesterday... so I am a bit happier. I have been a rotten, grumpy, semi-invalid for a few weeks. I'm just not very good at this. Even if I am lazy...I want to be lazy doing what I want to be doing... not feeling miserable because I am in pain or because I can't walk. Yes, I know lot of folks have it much worse... I should be grateful and I try... honest I do... but I still suck at being laid up..... so, at that...I admit I'm a total failure.

Mr. BV has been a special angel through it all. He deserves The Medal of Valour. Somehow he is able to ignore most of my ranting... a good thing.... encourages me on other fronts... and through it all ... .... manages to keep us moving forward... I'm a very lucky girl. I don't know how the poor guy puts up with me. And, in the midst of it all..he was finishing the last two cupboard doors for the laundry area...
they will cover the plumbing and plug-ins. Making it the best laundry room in the city to my eyes... you don't even see them this nice in the million dollar show homes we viewed when looking for ideas for our renovations. I'll post some pics of that next.

I think he actually enjoyed his time in the kitchen though. He appears to be a closet cook. Mostly, he doesn't do much in the kitchen, because he works full time still...and it is my domain. Therein lies a little problem too...I hate to relinquish control of MY kitchen I guess.

However, the first night, I didn't even care what was happening out there...and lo and behold... I heard some little clinkings, some rustling about and some chopping...and then.... oh, boy.... the aromas wafting to the bedroom from the kitchen !! ... yum! He said on the way home from the hospital... I think I'll make us Vindaloo for supper. Huh? I, of course, wanted to know how he would manage that... and his response? If you can read... you can cook. Boy... can that guy read!

Okay, this is not the vindaloo.... because I forgot in my Tylenol fog to take a photo of that before I devoured it. But... this is the little stuffed chicken he made for Thanksgiving dinner.... oooh... and that was yummy too! With creamy mashed spuds, carrots and sprouts. Oh, and... stuffing of course.... and... lovely gravy.

I have to admit, I did enjoy having somebody do the cooking and cleaning... seeing as it would have been the pits to try to do any or all of that with a gimpy hand.
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The garden has pretty much died out now...we had some cold days and then... the best summery type fall days you can imagine. It was perfect golfing weather... waaaahhh...and I couldn't be out there. #@!&^%$. Oh, well...next year. I'll be there at the crack of spring.. and get in lots of golf.

The wild flax and the iceland poppies just didn't want to give up.. nor did the Sweet Williams... they are still showing an occasional late bloom amidst the dried out iris stalks and in some secluded areas of the garden...

The coneflowers look interesting even when they are dried and brown.... I hate saying "dead"..

Hmmmm.... as usual.... I think I have nothing to say..and all of sudden it becomes a novella...... hahahha.....

Thursday, October 7, 2010

First, just let me say thank you so much for all the sympathy and good wishes from everybody. I did feel a bit sorry for myself for the first few days... so it was great to know somebody cared. Even my old golfing buddy (who is 91), remembered the surgery date and called to see how I was doing. That was sweet of him.
I don't know if it is just me and how my body reacts, but, yesterday was the first day that almost everything didn't seem to hurt or ache. Not just the arm.... that was okay after the first night. There was really not much pain in the site of the surgery...but, it seemed like it even hurt my feet to walk. I've been up and about of course, and even doing my outside walking...going my two kilometres...... but not really feeling myself. Silly. But... there you have it. Hope I never have to have a big surgery.... although, no surgery seems a small thing when it is your own body does it?

Anyway... feel much more like my old self today... yaaaayy!!... don't see the surgeon til next week and wish it was today so we could check out the incision, remove sutures or whatever. I still can't see anything...the steri strips are still firmly in place. I don't even know if there are external sutures.
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Two weeks ago we drove over the Pass... before the winter gates close. It is not open all year round.... they close it from December til mid June... probably as much because it would be very expensive to keep safe in snowy weather as it is for the animals. But, this is the main reason. Click to biggify and you can read it....

That's the road....waaaay down there..... in the middle of Kananaskis country, Alberta.... Peter Lougheed provincial park. I got the pics from Wik

Now...for some of our own photos..

It was a beautiful blue sky day.... why I love living here. Usually we have more of them than we have had the past few weeks...but, fall weather has returned after some rainy days and it is beeyoootiful. Actually...it is the best time of year for golf...except for the wrist thingy....

What a day for a drive!

There were more motorcycles than cars out today... too bad the clutch is my left hand..... or we could have taken the bike. The past few days have been perfect motorcycling weather too. Lots of bicycle riders and motorcycling on this particular stretch of highway.... and in the early spring...with the road still closed to four wheel traffic....the bicycle nuts just love freewheeling down the highway in big numbers...and belonging to all sorts of different types of bicycle clubs. Okay, well, it is definitely not all downhill... (the summit is 7239 feet!) so there is a lot of pedalling and hill climbing...but, it must be something to see.

It didn't matter which way I looked there was beauty ... it felt like my head was on a swivel!

Couldn't stop for every view... and it did take hours...so ...there are some shots that have guard rails ... darn it. Some that I wish we had stopped for...... hmmm... this one would be so perfect without that rail ... maybe next year.

ah.... that's better.... sort of.... closer though and not so much of a vista.... oh, well....

stopped at a pull-out where there was a hiking trail and lots of folks had driven to that point to then hike for several kilometres on a pretty cool and muddy trail. There was some snow right down to the parking area ..

see? ... remnants of snow from the week prior....

Heading down the other side....

Hey... look Toto....we're still in Alberta...

... a nearby small town ....

.... and finally.... right close to home...a nearby street.....

thanks for coming along for the ride! What a great day... and today is just as beautiful...all sunny and blue... but,....the leaves... well.... the wind has blown them off now...and they have become like cereal...all crispy and crunchy to kick through on my walks.......

Friday, October 1, 2010

..with my right index finger, so can't be bothered with caps ... ... feel kinda like a chicken pecking at feed ....

...keeping my left hand elevated

got the ganglion/s removed and de quervain's tendons released and tendon repositioned.. a lot of digging around in there..he found a big old non- resorbable suture in there too, from the previous ganglion surgery... way back in the 70's. guess that didn't help all these years... he couldn't figure out why it was there.. i'm sure i don't know...as i was out cold at that time. this time it was just a 'local' so i got to hear all the chatter... and do a lot of shivering and shaking. i was happy when the assistant, who turned out to be another young doctor, got me a heated blankie. ohhh that felt good.
i didn't look over at the ongoings..not this time. cuz when i had the carpal done on my other hand?..i looked. bad idea. i almost fainted.... and i was already lying down...

this is my cluster of ganglions... hope they are gone when the bandage comes off.. even though the prognosis seems to be that they will likely come back at some time.

elevate the hand for 3 weeks and then begin rehab... there is a fair bit of swelling..especially by morning. i wrap my hand in a blanket so it sort of stays up higher than the rest of my body.. but it sometimes moves of course.

i don't usually take tylenol 3 but that's what he prescribed for pain and said take 2 before the freezing came out. i should have listened to that little voice that was trying to make itself heard. i knew there must have been a reason i only ever took a few many years ago and have never even considered them for anything since. i must have been in shock. or just not thinking. anyway, by 8 in the morning i was still in plenty of pain, plus i had not slept one wink. and, felt sick to my stomach. tylenol 3 has caffeine in it!! acckkk. if i drink coffee after 2 in the afternoon i hardly get any sleep. never mind loading up on the stuff. i got off the bed and googled tylenol...immediately ditched those and took an ibuprofen. by then the pain was beginning to subside somewhat or i was getting used to it. i laid on the couch and finally fell asleep...whew.............

ok..nuff pecking.

something must have changed on blogger...i can't find my pics to upload... when i click on the photo icon something different shows up...no screen with a prompt to let me browse my computer for photos... anybody else have this problem? how do i upload photos now?

update:: .... thanks Perp... i did eventually track them down.... can't save them in a group now though... must be a way....